I took in the max for alignment and the shop said the car needed new camber bolts. After they ordered two sets of camber bolts, it turns out none of them have eccentric washers, whicht the shop said is the only bolt types they would install. Anyone know where to find these besides dealership?

 

sure, find someplace that sells moog

 

try shox.com I think they have them

 

Shox.com has ingalls only. I called ingalls and they say the bolts themselves are in eccentric shape and they don't know of anyone that makes eccentric washers for this car model. They also said washers don't go well together with mcpherson struts due to the lack of solid strut fence. The shop itself ordered 5 different camber sets and none of them have washers, I assume moog was one of them. I just talked to the manager and he said they'll be able to do some shavign and weldign around the strut to make it work. Apparently the alignment is severely out of spec, hence the need for this. I ran through my front tires in less than 4 months, so he's probably right.

 

sounds to me like you got frame damage then.
or they don't know how to align with bolts.

 

I believe it's frame damage. They even suggested taking it to a frame shop. The way the shop will do it they'll use the existing bolts but with some physical modifications around. That way I save on material and they charge me 1h labor in addition to alignment cost.

 

Stay away from camber bolts. they're called crash bolts for more reason than one. I've had bad experiences with them, and I tried two high quality brands- Ingalls and something else.

You should be able to fix your alignment with other methods that are safer and better to do.

exactly what are your alignment numbers, and what all have you done to the car (mods-wise).

if I know that, I can help guide you to a better solution than crash bolts.

 

The easy way to do it is to enlarge the holes in the strut itself, giving you the adjustment room needed... then sand/grind off the paint around the bolt holes and add another set of washers that fit VERY snugly against the 12mm strut bolts.. put the car on the alignment rack and get everything lined up the way you want it, then tack weld the washers onto the strut. this provides a very strong and secure way to set your camber.


With those crash bolts mentioned above, I've seen them come loose several times, causing your camber to change mid-corner if you hit a bump or something to that effect. that is NOT a good feeling when you're rounding a corner, hit a bump, then have to yank the wheel another 1/4 turn just to stay on the road.. been there, done that. NEVER again.

 

Great info matt..

I have heard more than a few bad things about camber bolts,and your input really "seals the coffin" on camber bolts as an option for me..Especially the way i drive..

 

I'd take it in to a shop and get an estimate on having the frame straightened out.
that is the best long term solution IMO.

 

What you describe in the first paragraph is I believe exactly what the shop did. They mentioned bad past experience with camber kits without eccentric washers and how it's just a temporary fix because, as you point out, they tend to fail.

I asked them if it was frame damage, they said no, the camber was just way out of specs. Car seems fine now, thanks guys.

 

did you read the thread at all?

 

 

READ THE THREAD, YOU FCUKTARD!!

 

Damn I wish I had the powers to

 

Me too..

 

Interesting, never thought of that. Although, if you ever needed to adjust the camber again in the future, wouldnt you need to remove the washers and then weld them back in place each time?

 

You gave them up
and gone got them

 

Yes you would.
but it takes 10 minutes to pull the struts off the car, then clamp them in my bench vise and go to town with a disc grinder. washers are cheap.

all done, it took me about 45 minutes to remove both front struts, grind off all 8 washers, then remount it all back on the car. not a huge deal considering you do it at most once a year.. for a street car, you shouldn't have to adjust the camber again after you get it set unless you change ride height or other major suspension work.

A race car is a bit different story and I'd recommend camber plates and/or adjustable control arms there. but this is a street car we're talking about.

 

I gave them up because I hated the rest of the mod staff back then. they liked to ban people for posting the smallest stupid shizzle, then they go and post themselves street racing and worse and wonder why I get mad about it. I refuse to be a part of that, so I quit.

 

I figured you had you reasons.
though I thought it was you didn't have enough time.
whatever, it's i the past now

 

nope.. I was tired of being involved and grouped in with all those hypocrites.
and yes, it's in the past. most of those people are gone now.

 

You want to be a mod again? I've been asked to be a mod on a forum that Russ tried to get banned off of.

 

Remember IRON FIST! I-R-O-N F-I-S-T!

 

I'm already moderator on allnissans.com, nissanforums.com, the soon-to-be motoIQ.com, administrator on zclubofhouston.com, as well as a sorta-mod here.

I've got enough on my plate, thanks.

 

Fixed.....

 

are you experienced?

 

Not yet..

 

someone say something about a post going OT?.................................

 

.